Salvation Army presses on despite funding shortfall

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Monday

Mar 24, 2014 at 4:00 PMMar 24, 2014 at 4:13 PM

Despite lacking about $2.5 million in funding, the Salvation Army of Tuscaloosa is proceeding with the reconstruction of its facility on Greensboro Avenue. The Center of Hope facility, which housed the city's only permanent, short-term homeless shelter, was destroyed by the April 27, 2011, tornado.

Despite lacking about $2.5 million in funding, the Salvation Army of Tuscaloosa is proceeding with the reconstruction of its facility on Greensboro Avenue. The Center of Hope facility, which housed the city’s only permanent, short-term homeless shelter, was destroyed by the April 27, 2011, tornado.As a step in the rebuilding, officials with the Salvation Army were seeking variances Monday night from the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment on the number of parking spaces the new $6.1 million facility will be required to have under the applicable RA-2 zoning.Before the board were requests to eliminate the parking provisions and property line setbacks required in an RA-2 zone. Documents filed with City Hall indicate the 31,000-square-foot building would have to have 103 parking spaces, but the nonprofit group said it won’t need that many.“The situation is, you have an indigent population that doesn’t have vehicles,” said Capt. Dean Moretz, administrator of the Salvation Army of Tuscaloosa. “Only a small percentage of the clients we deal with have vehicles.”Additionally, the Salvation Army wants to put its new facility toward the rear of the lot at 2902 Greensboro Ave., pushing it beyond the zoning ordinance’s limitation of placing a structure outside of a 5- to 40-foot range from the property line of the primary street — in this instance Greensboro Avenue.The Salvation Army plans to subdivide the land in front of the new proposed shelter and add future buildings. Once it does that, the primary structure will no longer be in violation of the zoning rules, according to city officials.Moretz said the Salvation Army decided to proceed with the rebuilding despite the funding shortfall because the facility is critical for the Tuscaloosa area.“The community needs this shelter,” Moretz said.Fundraising for the new shelter will continue during construction, which is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed in May 2015.The Tuscaloosa County Commission in January refused to grant the Salvation Army’s request for $250,000 after County Attorney Robert Spence cautioned that a government entity is barred from funding a religious organization.The Tuscaloosa City Council, however, contributed $500,000 for the rebuilding using federal Community Development Block Grant funds obtained through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s disaster recovery program. The Salvation Army hopes to use that money to leverage additional funding.Before the tornado, the Salvation Army facility had 70 beds and served an average of about 45 people a night, but Moretz said it was often filled to capacity during the summer and winter months.The new facility will have 88 beds, showers and a cafeteria and kitchen, along with class space for anger management, social skills and family counseling that will be open to the entire community, not just those residing at the shelter.